Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme

Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme
Name	Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme
Native name	Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme
Established	1963
Type	Research foundation
Location	Paris, France

Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme is a Paris-based foundation established to support research in the humanities and social sciences through fellowships, publications, and interdisciplinary programs. It engages with universities, research institutes, cultural institutions, and international organizations to foster scholarly exchange among historians, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, economists, and political scientists. The foundation hosts researchers from around the world, collaborates with institutions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and contributes to debates connected to archives, libraries, and museums.

History

Founded in 1963 by a consortium including Fernand Braudel, Lucien Febvre, Pierre Vilar, and members associated with the Annales School, the foundation emerged amid postwar efforts to reorganize French research institutions alongside entities such as the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, École pratique des hautes études, and Collège de France. Early decades saw interactions with figures from the French Resistance generation and connections to reconstruction projects linked to UNESCO, OECD, and transatlantic initiatives involving the Carnegie Corporation and the Ford Foundation. During the 1970s and 1980s the foundation expanded programs in partnership with universities like Sorbonne University, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and École normale supérieure, while responding to intellectual currents associated with scholars such as Michel Foucault, Pierre Nora, Jacques Derrida, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. In the 1990s and 2000s the foundation adapted to European integration trends exemplified by the Treaty of Maastricht and collaborations with the European Commission and networks including the European Research Council and the League of European Research Universities.

Mission and Activities

The foundation's mission emphasizes support for humanistic inquiry and social scientific research, linking scholars from institutions such as University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, and Yale University with archives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, collections at the Musée du Louvre, and repositories like the National Archives (France). Activities include hosting fellowships tied to programs honoring figures such as Fernand Braudel, Raymond Aron, and Emile Durkheim; organizing colloquia with participation by historians of events like the French Revolution, specialists in regions such as Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and analysts of episodes like the Algerian War and the Vietnam War. The foundation sponsors publication series that intersect with presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Presses Universitaires de France, and collaborates on conferences featuring speakers from Columbia University, King's College London, Max Planck Society, and Institut national de la recherche agronomique.

Research Programs and Grants

Research programs cover comparative history, urban studies, migration studies, digital humanities, and global governance, connecting projects overseen by scholars affiliated with École des hautes études en sciences sociales, London School of Economics, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. Grant mechanisms include postdoctoral fellowships, visiting professorships, and project funding aligned with initiatives like the Horizon 2020 framework, collaborative networks such as the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, and thematic calls resonant with the Sustainable Development Goals endorsed by United Nations. Competitions attract applicants who have worked on primary sources from institutions such as the Archives nationales (France), the Vatican Secret Archives, the British Library, and the Library of Congress; award committees have included members formerly connected to Académie française, Collège de France, and national academies across Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The foundation partners with international universities and research centers including Sciences Po, Humboldt University of Berlin, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidade de São Paulo, Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, and regional bodies such as the African Studies Association, Association of Asian Studies, and the Latin American Studies Association. Collaborative projects have linked to cultural institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Orsay, and archival collaborations with the International Council on Archives and the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon. Joint programs and exchanges have been supported by foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and intergovernmental organizations including UNESCO and Council of Europe.

Campus and Facilities

Located in Paris near academic hubs like Quartier Latin, the campus provides offices, seminar rooms, and a residency program adjacent to collections at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève and cultural venues such as the Théâtre de l'Odéon and Institut du Monde Arabe. Facilities include a specialized library, digital labs for textual analysis drawing on tools exemplified by projects at Digital Humanities Lab (Stanford), and meeting spaces for workshops supported by partners such as École Polytechnique and the Institut Pasteur for interdisciplinary dialogue that intersects history of science and medicine, and archives from institutions like the Musée de l'Homme.

Governance and Funding

Governance combines a board and scientific council with members drawn from institutions like Académie des sciences morales et politiques, Collège de France, Sorbonne University, and international representatives from Princeton University, Yale University, and University of Toronto. Funding mixes endowment revenue, public grants from entities such as the Ministry of Culture (France) and regional authorities like the Île-de-France Region, competitive research grants from the European Research Council, and philanthropic support from trusts including the Fondation de France and private donors linked to the École normale supérieure. Financial oversight follows norms adopted in European research organizations and accountability practices comparable to those of the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale and major university endowments.

Category:Foundations in France Category:Research institutes in Paris